Modern strategies for the treatment and prevention of bleeding from gastric

Aim . To analyze the results of modern prevention and treatment strategies applied for bleeding from gastric varices in patients with portal hypertension syndrome. Materials and methods . The study enrolled 276 patients with portal hypertension, including 187 cases of liver cirrhosis and 89 cases of extrahepatic portal hypertension. 24% of the patients with liver cirrhosis were classified as Child-Turcotte-Pugh Class A, 50% as Class B, and 26% as Class C. The portal vein thrombosis was confirmed in 80% of extrahepatic portal hypertension cases, while isolated splenic vein thrombosis was observed in 20%. Varices GOV1 (Sarin classification) were identified in 126 patients (45.7%), GOV2 in 110 patients (39.8%), and IGV-1 in 40 patients (14.5%). The following interventions were performed: endoscopic ligation, endoscopic sclerotherapy, endovascular techniques (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration), laparoscopic gastric devascularization, and distal splenorenal anastomosis. Results . Following endoscopic procedures, recurrence of gastric varices was noted in 20% of cases, and bleeding occurred in 7%. The efficacy of endoscopic treatment amounted to 71%; endoscopic ligation for bleeding from GOV1 varices appeared effective in 94.4% of cases. Early recurrence of bleeding developed in 29.4% of patients. The efficacy of endoscopic sclerotherapy for bleeding from GOV2/IGV1 varices comprised 96.7% with early recurrence occurring in 12.9% of patients. The secondary prevention involved multiple endoscopic interventions that led to complete eradication of gastric varices in 34% of cases with recurrent bleeding noted in 9.3% of patients, while persistent recurrence of gastric varices was observed in 66%. A splenorenal anastomosis provided reliable prevention of recurrent bleedings. No shunt thrombosis or mortality was recorded; however, the incidence of post-shunt encephalopathy comprised 16.5%. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt facilitated a significant reduction in portal pressure and the enlargement of esophageal and gastric varices. Post-shunt encephalopathy occurred in 48.6% of patients. In the long-term follow-up, a recurrence of esophagogastric bleeding was recorded in one patient. Laparoscopic azygoportal disconnection contributed to the regression of varices in the esophagus and stomach; however, a recurrence of gastric varices developed in 30% of cases and a recurrence of bleeding in 12.5%. Conclusion . Current medicine obtains a sufficient arsenal of modern methods for the treatment and prevention of bleeding from gastric varices. The choice of treatment and prevention strategies for bleeding in portal hypertension necessitates a differentiated approach, taking into account the etiology and degree of disease decompensation.